The much awaited debut of Steve Nash in Los Angeles Lakers colours came today, as the Lakeshow took on the Golden State Warriors in NBA pre-season play. Whilst Dwight Howard sat courtside in a clownish suit, Nash put up five points and three assists in 14 minutes, including a decent ankle breaker on Jarrett Jack (see video below). 

The score always means little when it comes to the pre-season, and this game was no different. The Warriors came out 110-83 victors on the back of a 37-10 third quarter. Very few of you would have been rushing to place bets on your iPhone on this one, but if you did back the Warriors to win by that much, the odds would've been pretty impressive. 

Of course, the real anticipation comes when the regular season arrives. It is then that we will see if Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Nash, Howard and Metta World Peace can co-exist on the basketball court; and more than this, whether they can take their talent to an expected NBA title. (boxscore here)

The lockout-shortened 2011-12 NBA season brought us possibly the closest rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers that we've ever seen. With only one win separating the regular season records of both teams, the bolstering of the Clippers' lineup with the arrival of Chris Paul certainly paid dividends. It might be a bit early to say, but a quick check on the sports betting options will no doubt put both teams in the same ballpark for 2012-13.

Of course, the the landscape has changed for quite a few NBA teams this off-season. The Lakers have re-loaded with the huge additions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard -- and they're not the only ones. The rivalry in the NYC-area between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets should be one of the closest since Drazen, DC and Kenny A were in town. 

So, which one of the big city matchups will be the most interesting? Let's take a look at how each of the four teams are shaping up.

Brooklyn Nets v New York Knicks

What has changed with the Nets? 

The first and most obvious change to the Nets comes with name and location. No longer "New Jersey", the Jay-Z-led Nets will now be known as Brooklyn. With that change comes a great deal of excitement, new facilities and a fresh start. That has to count for something.

More importantly, the Nets pulled off a blockbuster deal to bring Atlanta's star guard Joe Johnson to town. Johnson provides All-Star quality scoring and size at the two-spot and pulls much of the load away from lead guard Deron Williams. At the same time, the Nets re-signed Williams for five years, and did the same with defensive star Gerald Wallace for four years. They also extended the contract of key center, Brook Lopez.

Supplementary pieces like Andray Blatche, CJ Watson, Kris Humphries and Josh Childress make for a roster with sufficient depth to give cross-town rivals the Knicks some trouble.

What has changed with the Knicks?

Remember the hoopla last season attached to temporarily the most famous basketballer in the world, Jeremy Lin? Well, all of that will be gone next season. Lin was ultimately allowed to walk to the Houston Rockets, with the Knicks determining that he really wasn't worth all that. Instead, we'll be once again graced by the presence of stars Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler.

In addition, the Knicks brought back familiar faces Raymond Felton, Kurt Thomas and Marcus Camby (all of whom had seen time in Portland since their last time in Knicks colours). They signed veteran star point guard Jason Kidd to help mentor Felton. They also re-signed shooter Steve Novak, firebrand guard JR Smith and added guards Pablo Prigioni and Ronnie Brewer. 

Who is better?

This is a tough call. Last season's Nets (22-44) paled in comparison to the 36-30 Knicks -- particularly when Lin was on the court. However it is a much different outlook this season. Linsanity is over in New York, but the Knicks have the opportunity to consolidate on teamwork between Melo, Amar'e and Chandler, whilst adding the veteran presence of Kidd and co. Meanwhile, things are suddenly exciting in Brooklyn. The change of scenery, coupled with the arrival of Johnson makes for a formiddable Nets team.

Which team is better? This one is too close for me to call.

Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers

What has changed with the Lakers?

Two massive names: Steve and Dwight. Suddenly the Lakers are talking title, with no hesitation whatsoever. They're super-relevant again, in the same breath as the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The starting five of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard is as good as any super-ensemble compiled in recent times. Is this team capable of putting that together for a title? It is an interesting thought, and one that brings back memories of the Payton-Kobe-Malone-Shaq lineup of yesteryear in LA. 

What has changed with the Clippers?

After putting together an impressive combo of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Caron Butler last season, this off-season turned into a consolidation exercise for the Clips. The additions of Grant Hill, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Willie Green, Ronny Turiaf and extension of Blake Griffin for five years all were positive moves for LA's other team.

However those positives will be balanced against the fact that both Paul and Griffin will be recovering from off-season surgery as the season begins. That could amount to a very slow start.

Who is better?

With the Lakers trying to bring together some very significant players and the Clippers' injury woes, they're both likely to get out of the gates a little slowly. Once all of that is sorted out though, the Lakers are going to very dangerous. The Clips have some interesting moving parts, but it is the Lakers who are boasting about potentially beating all-time regular season records. And rightly so. Look for the Lakers to win the rivalry race in LA -- this season anyway. 

Jeremy Lin and David Lee "sneak out" of their Taipei hotel rooms to play some late night street hoops with the locals, with the predicatable frenzy ensuing. 

• Hello Kitty -- awesome.
• Count the number of people who are NOT filming the game on their mobile devices.
• David Lee, good looking out for your international brand!

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Not many people could trouble Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the paint, but Nate "the Great" Thurmond was one hell of a defensive player down low. As you'll see in this rare video highlights package, Thurmond was an absolute monster defensively -- a powerful, legitimate big man. Plus, he totally wore that receeding hairline like a boss (LeBron, take note).

The creator of this youtube highlights package described Thurmond as accurately as anyone possibly could here:

One of the greatest 1 on 1 post defenders of all time. Nate Thurmond stood 6-11 w/o shoes and weighed 240lbs in his prime, he had extraordinarily long arms, great strength and incredible defensive discipline and instincts. Thurmond tormented opponents like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Willis Reed holding them to their worst offensive numbers of their careers. He is one of the NBA's 50 greatest players and is the first player to officially record a quadruple double.

You can check out his career statistics here. 15 and 15 over a career ain't bad.

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Footlocker commercial video: James Harden and Russell Westbrook, recent Olympic gold medalists, mess around with tearaway gear from Footlocker, including their new line of beards...

New commercial from Footlocker [video]: Carmelo Anthony is an incredibly busy man. That's why he has a bunch of "Melo's" to help play body-double for him; including one who looks strikingly similar to Craig Smith. 

As we've previously talked about here, the romantic tale of the 2012 London Olympics has been Team USA basketballer Kobe Bryant and Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice. And it looks like the flirtations are continuing, with the pair today seen enjoying each other's company at the Olympic cycling event.

The photos, published on news.com.au show Bryant joking it up with Rice and other Aussies as they watched Anna Meares (Australia) take on Victoria Pendleton (Great Britain) in the velodrome. 

Are we witnessing the beginnings of a new high profile sporting romance?

(images: News Limited / Courier-Mail)

As you may have heard, Linsanity has moved on. That's right, Jeremy Lin signed an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets -- a big one -- and the New York Knicks failed to match that offer. So all of those Linsanity bandwagon fans will have to ride their wagon all the way to Texas if they want to continue supporting him. 

Meanwhile, this ingenius parody of Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know mourns the loss of Lin from Manhattan.

Lyrics:

With NBA Summer League games fast approaching (along with the 2012 London Olympics), here are five players that will be of particular interest to Australians and fans of the National Basketball League.

1. Jerai Grant (Houston Rockets) -- most recently of the 2011/12 Sydney Kings. Grant's arrival in Sydney had links to the Rockets.
2. Diamon Simpson (Houston Rockets) -- the big man, formerly of the Adelaide 36ers, caught on with the Rockets at the end of the 2011/12 NBA season.
3. Julian Khazzouh (Los Angeles Lakers) -- Grant's frontcourt teammate in Sydney, he last had a run with the Golden State Warriors before the lockout-shortened NBA 2011/12 season.
4. Ater Majok (Los Angeles Lakers) -- the Sudanese-Aussie big man was drafted by the Lakers last year and has most recently been playing with Nitra in Slovakia.
5. Luke Nevill (Orlando Magic) -- Perth Wildcats big man who has had more than one run in the NBA Summer Leagues previously.

Word is that Jeremy Lin may be returning to the Houston Rockets. He of the Linsanity of 2012 has reportedly agreed to terms on a four year deal "worth $10.2 million over the first two seasons and $9.3 million in each of the last two years. The fourth season is a team option."

Lin is currently a restricted free agent with the New York Knicks. Famously, the 23-year old 6'3" point guard caused mass-hysteria with an improbable run which turned around the fortunes of the the Knicks and made him an international star. The Rockets can not officially make the offer until 11 July, at which time the Knicks will have three days to match and retain Lin's services.

This would not be the first time Lin has donned a Rockets jersey (see right), after he signed with the team as a free agent in December 2011. However he did not play a game for Houston and 15 days later signed with the Knicks, where he averaged 14.6ppg and 6.2apg over 35 games.

The big question is as to whether the Knicks would look to match an offer of this size. Lin is a huge drawcard in terms of attention (and therefore fan and sponsorship dollars), but his long-term ability to perform on the basketball court is yet to be proven. 

No doubt there is an Asian Rockets fanbase which yearns for another star to cling to, after the retirement of Chinese superstar Yao Ming due to injury. Meanwhile, in New York, it looks like Jason Kidd will be featuring at Madison Square Garden next season.